Tax Resistance in “Gospel Herald”, 1984

This is the twenty-fifth in a series of posts about war tax resistance as it
was reported in back issues of Gospel Herald, journal
of the (Old) Mennonite Church.

The debate about war tax resistance continued at a simmer through
1984, and by the end of the year it was clear that
the Mennonite Church would have to have the same debate about withholding taxes
from its employees’ salaries that had occupied the General Conference Mennonite
Church the previous year.

Joel Kauffmann’s “Pontius” comic strip was a regular feature in
Gospel Herald. This example comes from the
24 January 1984 issue.

The Center for Discipleship and the Peace Studies Program at Goshen College
will cosponsor a seminar on “Conscientious Objection to Military Taxes” on
Goshen’s campus, Feb. 4.
The program will feature an Internal Revenue Service representative addressing
the legalities of withholding military taxes; discussion of improved
communication between tax withholders, the government, and the church; and a
look at various patriotic and biblical objections raised by nonwithholders.
The purpose of the seminar is not to foster debate on the morality of tax
withholding; rather, persons who are already withholding taxes or who are
seeking additional information on the issue are encouraged to attend. In lieu
of a registration fee, participants will be asked to make a $10 tax-deductible
contribution.

I wonder if you could rope an
IRS
spokesperson into addressing a war tax resistance conference today.

The 7 February 1984 included an article that
summed up the state of the war tax issue in the Mennonite community. It’s the
same article that appeared in The Mennonite around
the same time and that I reproduced here when I was going through those
archives (see ♇ 4 August 2018 — search
for “Military taxes — continuing agenda in 1984”).

War tax resistance foe D.R. Yoder wrote
a commentary
for the 6 March 1984 issue in which he
argued that tax resistance was ineffective because the government can just rely
on borrowing or seigniorage if it runs out of tax money, which means ultimately
the costs not paid by war tax resisters just get shifted to other people, which
isn’t very Christian.

One stewardship issue that is seldom brought up, although one of the most
important, is how we use our tax dollars. Becky and I are comfortable in
paying local and state taxes but have come to feel that we cannot pay any of
our federal income taxes, given their use in fueling the arms race. We note
the irony that while the average Mennonite family gives the church $430 a year
for peacemaking it pays the
IRS
$1,500 for its militarism. A 4 percent tithe for the church, and a 10 percent
tithe for the government! Our response is to reduce our taxable income and
refuse to pay anything, choosing instead to use this money for serving the
kingdom. Friends of ours have taken other options such as matching their
giving to the
IRS with
their giving to the church, refusing to pay a percentage of their tax dollars,
enclosing a letter of protest with their payment. We feel that how we use our
money is a crucial test of our loyalties and commitments and must become a
stewardship issue for this generation.

Imagine with us what could happen if we Mennonites were to take the steps
outlined in books like Beyond the Rat Race. Imagine
if we were to give as much to the church as we give the
IRS, or
if we gave our tax dollars to the work of the church, withholding them from
military use?

I want to make a few comments… especially on the last part concerning the
average Mennonite family giving “a 4 percent tithe for the church, and a 10
percent tithe for the government.” I cannot understand how he can withhold all
income taxes from Uncle Sam in light of the fact the
U.S. government is
very reasonable in its demands. The government allows us to give 50 percent to
charitable causes without too many restrictions, though there are some.

Thus I ask, until we give 50 percent to charity which the government allows,
who is responsible if it is not spent right? Peters talked about the tithe for
the church. Personally I believe many of us should give much more. Just
because we feel our government does not spend all our tax money right does not
give us the right to withhold all or part of our tax money.

[Esther (Leatherman)] Kisamore, formerly of Pennsylvania, is a member of a
Christian community, called Bijou House, consisting of 13 persons. There are
four other Mennonites in this house community; the next largest group
represented is Roman Catholic. The group shares economic resources and lives
below the taxable income level as a way of avoiding the payment of war taxes.

The 10 April 1984 issue contained
a pro-taxpaying op-ed from Harold Hartzler.
Christians should pay taxes gladly, he wrote, citing Romans 13. Taxes help our
terrific government; we shouldn’t try to lower our taxes but should indeed pay
even more than is required; the government should simplify taxes and broaden
the tax base, and should increase taxes even if that makes things “unbearable.”

Alongside that commentary was this one, credited to Call to
Peacemaking:

Praying and paying: a dilemma

The question begins to sound like a cliché, we’ve heard it so often: Can we go
on praying for peace while paying for war?

But the question won’t go away. Every year in the United States we are
reminded of the reality of military preparations when the president presents
the proposed budget to congress. This year the figures reach almost beyond our
imaginations, near a trillion in total spending with more than a third for
war. A military expenditure of that enormity was once associated only with the
waging of all-out war. Now it is only preparation for war, plus minor (?)
interventions here and there.

We only need to reflect for a moment on the consequences of the kind of war
we’re preparing for to know in our hearts that the government is buying us
less security. That’s the purpose of the state? To brandish a nuclear sword
which guarantees that if used it will fulfill the prophecy of Jesus: “They who
take the sword will perish with the sword.”

Between the time the budget is unveiled and when we can no longer delay the
moment of truth with the Internal Revenue Service is usually a little less
than three months. Plenty of time to agonize whether what Caesar is demanding
to support the arms race is really what is due to Caesar.

An increasing number of concerned persons recognize the dilemma of praying and
paying and are seriously trying to decide how to resist. A leaflet, “Stages of
Conscientious Objection to Military Taxes,” by Bill Strong at the Philadelphia
Yearly Meeting of Friends and Linda Schmidt of Mennonite Central Committee
describes what some have done in response to the question of taxes for war.

The leaflet is available from New Call to Peacemaking, Box 1245, Elkhart,
IN…

Milo and Viola Stahl presented bags of groceries to a staff person at the
regional office of the Internal Revenue Service, Staunton,
Va.

As tax season rolls around, taxpayers are faced with many facts and figures
that concern the conscience as well as the wallet. For some Christians payment
of federal income tax — the portion which goes to finance the military — is a
dilemma.

This year a group called Christians for Peace, consisting of largely
Mennonites from the Harrisonburg,
Va., area, gathered at the
regional office of the Internal Revenue Service in Staunton,
Va., on
Apr.
13, 1984. They came to register their concern about the amount of
income tax money which is used for military purposes. Instead of bringing
their normal checks, they came with a truckload of food for the
IRS.

The food was purchased with money that the participants withheld from their
1983 tax payments. “We seek to follow Jesus’ call
to be peacemakers by directing our resources away from the instruments of
death and toward life,” explained Wendell Ressler, one of the organizers of
the event. “We cannot reconcile Jesus’ call to love our enemies with our
government’s call to help pay for their destruction.”

The group began the witness with a short worship service in front of the
IRS
building. There was a short mime skit entitled The Global Garden Deli which
visualized their feelings about paying for military expenditures. The theme
song, “I Am Not Willing to Buy Your Bombs, Sam,” sung to the melody “I Have
Decided to Follow Jesus,” was heard between prayers and testimony of the group
members.

Wendell Ressler then read a short statement of purpose to the small crowd of
onlookers. He explained that this action was really a pledge to reexamine the
effects of the group’s lifestyle on other people. “We do not wish to be
protected if it means others are killed in our names. We gladly pay taxes
which are used to enrich the lives of others, but it is immoral for our
government to play Russian roulette with the future of our planet.”

Christians for Peace members, Milo and Viola Stahl, then entered the
IRS
building to offer their bags of groceries in payment for the military portion
of the income tax. They were cordially received by the representative for the
regional director of the
IRS,
but told that the
IRS
could not accept the bread. When the Milo Stahls asked the representative what
the IRS
would like them to do with the food, the representative replied, “That is your
prerogative, but I cannot accept it.”

The food was then presented to the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank,
Inc., a nonprofit
community organization that distributes 220,000 pounds of food each month to
hungry people in the area. Executive Director Phil Grasty was careful to note
that he did not want to take a political stand on the issue, but he was “happy
to receive the food.” Over 1,000 pounds of canned goods were donated to the
organization.

The group repeatedly tried to explain that their intention was not to harass
the IRS
personnel. Instead their goal was to represent their concern as a Christian
witness. “The reason that I am here,” said Christian for Peace member Nate
Barge, “is that for me it is an act of faith. I am trying to bring evangelism
and social action together.”

The event attracted passersby to stop and watch the demonstration. One of
them, Dave Murphy, a member of the Staunton Christian Fellowship Baptist
Church, said, “I think it is a nice effort on their part to present what they
believe about military spending… after all it is the American way to speak
out. I am particularly pleased that they are giving the food to the Food Bank
where it will do some good.”

Members of the Christians for Peace group tried to donate food to the
IRS,
but it was refused, so they turned the food over to the Blue Ridge Area Food
Bank.

Two years after Seattle Archbishop Raymond Hunthausen’s decision to withhold
half of his federal income taxes, a religious “war tax” movement is growing
rapidly. Its numbers are being swelled both by Hunthausen imitators and by
creative new forms of protest by people who are upset by the nuclear arms race
but reluctant to put themselves outside the law.

According to new Internal Revenue Service figures, the type of protest
popularized by the Seattle archbishop has increased nearly fivefold in the
last three years, while alternative forms of protest, some of them revived
from the Vietnam War era, have also become more frequent. Among the latter
protesters are people who refuse to pay a small, token amount of tax, or
withhold federal excise taxes from their monthly telephone bills. Others file
a return and write “paid under protest” on the check, or file for a refund of
military taxes already paid. Increasing charitable giving to reduce the amount
of income subject to tax, and changing one’s lifestyle to live below a taxable
income level, are also gaining acceptance. Many religious groups, in addition,
are pressing Congress for legislation that would allow “conscientious
objectors” to divert all their taxes to “peaceful” purposes.

The Mennonite Central Committee held its executive committee meeting in
May 1984:

Executive Secretary Reg Toews reported that three staff members have requested
that
MCC
no longer withhold the military portion of the federal withholding tax from
their paychecks.

Member Larry Kehler of Winnipeg,
Man., noted that "this is a
very volatile issue in our constituency." It was observed that
MCC
is in a unique position, since it represents a wide coalition of conferences,
who come to this issue with various degrees of intensity. “Just to discuss
this issue is to raise concern in many groups,” Toews said.

The executive committee stated their intention to take seriously the request
from the staff members, as well as constituency concerns. They asked
administrative staff to work on a plan, to be discussed by the committee in
September, concerning how this issue should
receive broader testing.

A letter to the editor
from Steven G. Gehman (14 August 1984)
rejected on scriptural grounds the “witnessing” justification of war tax
resistance, but left open the possibility that it was justified on the grounds
of conscientious objection to participation in war:

I have struggled with the war tax issue and have not reached any definite
answer. I cannot feel comfortable knowing that a great portion of my taxes is
devoted to killing or creating the potential to kill, and knowing that Jesus
commands us to have no part in war. But neither am I comfortable with war tax
resistance. There are no records of Jesus opposing taxes to the Roman military
machine. In Romans 13:1–5 Paul states his view that the government bears the
sword as God’s servant. First Peter 2:13 gives us the injunction to submit to
human authority.

I do not think either or both of these passages in themselves yield a final
answer to the war tax issue. They do help to sharpen the questions. If the
government bears the sword as God’s servant, total disarmament cannot be the
goal or the reason for war tax resistance. Neither is the desire for an
effective witness to the government sufficient reason to resist payment since
we are commanded to submit to human authority.

The question of whether or not payment of war taxes is right hinges on whether
or not payment of these taxes constitutes participation in a killing machine
to an extent forbidden by the example and teachings of Jesus. What effect does
current military technology have on our response to this issue?

Michio Ohno, pastor of the Mennonite congregation in Toke outside Tokyo, told
of his pilgrimage which included being a pastor in the United Church before
becoming a Mennonite. He also made an eloquent appeal for a peace stance and
the nonpayment of military taxes.

J. Ward Shank, in a 18 September 1984“Update on the peace movement in the Mennonite Church”,
criticized the modern centrality of anti-war activism among Mennonites,
suggesting that it had displaced more basic Christian themes. “Peace is a fruit
of the gospel, not its basis, or necessarily the heart of it,” he wrote. The
article only mentioned war tax resistance in passing, but of course was
relevant to it. It prompted a great deal of back-and-forth in the letters to
the editor column.

The Mennonite Church’s general board’s
“council on faith, life, and strategy”
met in October 1984. It turned out that
the Mennonite Church, like its cousins the General Conference Mennonite Church,
had employees who wanted their church to stop withholding war taxes from their
paychecks. This time around, the Mennonite Church wouldn’t have the luxury
of playing spectator in the debate:

One of the stickier issues arose out of a request from a couple employed by
Mennonite Board of Missions that federal income taxes not be withheld from
their paychecks. They want to stop paying the portion of their taxes that goes
to the military. The council tried to clarify the issue by raising underlying
questions such as “Shall a church perform a function on behalf of the state,
in this instance collecting taxes?” and “Should a church institution place
employees in a position where they do not have the option to follow their
conscience on this issue?” Vigorous discussion led to two recommendations: (1)
That this question might be considered in the forthcoming Conversations on
Faith Ⅱ meeting. (2) That a task force be appointed by the General Board.

I noticed that tax resistance was on the agenda at the General Conference
Dialogue on Faith
in October also, but there wasn’t
anything meaty in the article worth reprinting here.

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